Toyota suffers biggest loss in 72 years
The manufacturer, which has plants in 27 countries and regions around the world, revealed a net loss of 437bn yen (£3bn) for the financial year ending 2009. Last year the company generated a net income of 1.72 trillion yen.
Germany moves to outlaw paintball
The German government says it plans to ban combat games such as paintball, in response to a recent school shooting.
The new measures being proposed to parliament also include tighter gun control rules and give officials the right to conduct checks on gun owners.
Obama move on abortion funds riles both sides
President Obama called for overturning a decade-old ban on publicly funded abortions in the District as part of his budget proposal Thursday, but did not overturn the national ban on federal funding, thus angering advocacy groups on both sides of the volatile issue.
Texas rape victims billed (Video)
Texas rape victims suffer more indignation when they receive delinquent bills from hospitals for their own rape kits.
High School 1957 vs. 2009
Jack goes quail hunting before school and then pulls into the school parking lot with his shotgun in his truck’s gun rack.
1957 – Vice Principal comes over, looks at Jack’s shotgun, goes to his car and gets his shotgun to show Jack.
2009 – School goes into lock down, FBI called, Jack hauled off to jail and never sees his truck or gun again. Counselors called in for traumatized students and teachers.
Spying on anti-war protestors: US Army Concept of Operations for Police Intelligence Operations
The document presents a 60 page For Official Use Only intelligence manual from the US Army's Military Police School. Among other matters, the document reveals that the US Army is using structuring tricks to work around intelligence oversight rules that would normally prevent domestic spying and hoarding of data on anti-war protesters
Flashback - The Pentagon's New Spies
The military has built a vast domestic-intelligence network to fight terrorism -- but it's using it to track students, grandmothers and others protesting the war
Sorensen, of course, is the best known presidential speechwriter of the 20th century, if only on the strength of “Ask not what your country can do for you, ask what you can do for your country.”
But I was reminded by reading Sorensen’s engaging new autobiography this week that the speechwriter also became one of President John F. Kennedy’s closest national security advisers in the wake of the CIA’s disastrous invasion of Cuba at the Bay of Pigs in April 1961.
“Long after the operation’s failure,” Sorensen writes, “secret minutes emerged of a November 15, 1960, CIA meeting — prior to briefing the new president-elect — in which the CIA’s own reviewers concluded that the invasion was ‘unachievable — [with no] internal unrest earlier believed possible — nor will [Castro’s] defense permit the type [of] strike planned,’ the minutes said.”
Of course, CIA bosses were telling Kennedy the invasion was a slam-dunk.
Patent for killer chip denied in Germany
A Saudi inventor's proposal to insert semiconductors subcutaneously in visitors and remotely kill them if they misbehave will not be patented in Germany.
Newspaper: Cartel leader threatens deadly force on U.S. police
The reputed head of Mexico's Sinaloa drug cartel is threatening a more aggressive stance against competitors and law enforcement north of the border, instructing associates to use deadly force, if needed, to protect increasingly contested trafficking operations, authorities said.
A giant US military base emerges in Afghanistan
In the forbidding Afghan desert, US engineers are carving out a sprawling military camp as part of a dramatic American troop build-up designed to confront Taliban insurgents.
"The Greatest Boondoggle in History": Banks Buoyed at Taxpayers' Expense
The PPIP is the "greatest boondoggle in the history of the world," says Black, a former bank regulator who was counsel to the Federal Home Loan Bank Board during the S&L crisis. As occurred during the S&L era, Black says the PPIP will allow banks to exchange "trash for cash" and turn "real losses into faulty gains."
If the goal of Tim Geithner and other regulators was "to rip off the American taxpayer for the benefit of the least-deserving wealthiest people you can imagine, well - mission accomplished," Black says.
More Acorn Voter Fraud Comes to Light
Democrats are split on how to deal with Acorn, the liberal "community organizing" group that deployed thousands of get-out-the-vote workers last election. State and city Democratic officials -- who've been contending with its many scandals -- are moving against it. Washington Democrats are still sweeping Acorn abuses under a rug.
Venezuela's Chavez seizes oil service companies
Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez sent troops to seize oil service companies on Friday, tightening his grip on the oil industry as low crude prices pinch the OPEC nation's finances.
Beware of Obamanomics
By Thomas E. Woods, Jr.
In 1920–21, the United States faced a grave economic crisis, worse than the first year of the Great Depression. Double-digit unemployment and a 21 percent decline in production over the previous twelve months greeted the new president.
Don’t Be Fooled by Inflation
By Peter Schiff
Strike up the band, boys, happy days are here again! Recently released short-term economic data, including unemployment claims, non-farm payrolls, home sales, and business spending, which had been so unambiguously horrific in February and March, are now just garden-variety awful. With the Wicked Witch of Depression now apparently crushed under the house of Obamanomics, the Munchkins of Wall Street have sounded the all clear, pushing the Dow Jones up 25% from its lows. But the premature conclusion of their Lollipop Guild economists, that the crash of 2008/2009 is now a fading memory, is just as delusional as their failure to see it coming in the first place.
Rebranding the Long War, Part 2
By Pepe Escobar
It's a classic case of calm before the storm. The AfPak chapter of Obama's brand new OCO ("Overseas Contingency Operations"), formerly GWOT ("global war on terror") does not imply only a surge in the Pashtun Federally Administered Tribal Areas (FATA). A surge in Balochistan as well may be virtually inevitable.
Air Marshals’ Secret Communication Weapon
If you’re a U.S. Air Marshal patrolling the friendly skies, you’ll want to communicate discreetly with fellow on-board marshals, airport ground crew, cockpit crew and flight attendants if you need to thwart an attack.
Zuma sworn in as S Africa leader
Jacob Zuma, leader of the African National Congress, has been sworn in as South Africa's new president.
It's snowing all over the world
Sooner or later, even our loathsome media are going to put two and two together. Then, those idiot politicians who have embraced the global warming scam are going to look even more stupid than they do already. The reckoning may be delayed, but it will come.
Obama Readies Troops as Afghans Pile Up Body Parts
As rage spreads in Afghanistan after US bombing that killed up to 130 people, unnamed Pentagon officials are spinning another cover-up. Defiant Obama moves ahead with troop increase.
Obama budget sees eight pct foreign aid boost
US President Barack Obama's new budget calls for 36.7 billion dollars in foreign aid, an eight percent increase, stressing the importance of international development, officials said Friday.
Next step? No guns allowed for right-wing 'extremists'
A new gun law being considered in Congress, if aligned with Department of Homeland Security memos labeling everyday Americans as potential "threats," could potentially deny firearms to pro-lifers, gun-rights advocates, tax protesters, animal rights activists, and a host of others – any already on the expansive DHS watch list for potential "extremism."
Indian RAW funded Swat terrorists:$650 million to destabilize Pakistan
India intelligence: “‘the aim of RAW is to keep internal disturbances flaring up and the ISI preoccupied so that Pakistan can lend no worthwhile resistance to Indian designs in the region.” Obama Set to Revive Military Commissions
The Obama administration is preparing to revive the system of military commissions established at Guantanamo Bay, Cuba, under new rules that would offer terrorism suspects greater legal protections, government officials said.
Top Pelosi Aide Learned Of Waterboarding in 2003
A top aide to House Speaker Nancy Pelosi attended a CIA briefing in early 2003 in which it was made clear that waterboarding and other harsh techniques were being used in the interrogation of an alleged al-Qaeda operative, according to documents the CIA released to Congress on Thursday.
Obama wants Fed to be finance supercop
The White House told industry officials on Friday that it is leaning toward recommending that the Federal Reserve become the supercop for "too big to fail" companies capable of causing another financial meltdown.
Foreign Military Air Force Now Stationed In U.S.
The world outside Idaho got a little bit smaller Wednesday, as four F-15SG fighter jets flown from St. Louis by the Royal Singapore Air Force landed between rainstorms at Mountain Home Air Force Base.
Greeted by a cheering crowd of more than 100 military personnel from both Singapore and the U.S., the four jets are the first of as many as 10 that will call the airbase home for at least the next 20 years.
More On The SHAM "Stress Test"
After I posted my Ticker on this subject the Fannie report came out and immediately proved up what I had said - the tests are a sham.
Mystery group in the driving seat
If the Finance Minister really wants to know the depth of this "global economic firestorm", all he has to do is to ask the people who created it.
Why the Government's Attempt to Instill False Confidence Will Backfire
The government is doing its best to try to "restore confidence" in the economy. Indeed, Obama's top economics advisors believe they can fool people into believing that everything is fine, and then the economy will recover.
Westsound Bank of Bremerton, Wash., seized, sold
The state announced its seizure of Westsound Bank on Friday evening, citing "severe asset problems, significant losses and inadequate capital."
In Battle With Fed, Banks Won
The FT says that behind closed doors, the government has assured banks they will be allowed to raise less than mandated by the stress tests “if earnings over the next six months outstrip regulators’ forecasts.”
US states mulling Google book-scan pact
A group of US state attorneys general recently held a conference call to discuss Google's $125m digital book settlement with the US Authors Guild and the Association of American Publishers.
Police may use water cannon to control violent demonstrations
Scotland Yard is to review its policing of violent demonstrations after the G20 protests to see if London needs harsher, European-style methods that could include the use of water cannon.
Official who OK'd Air Force One jet flyover resigns
President Obama has accepted the resignation of Louis Caldera, the director of the White House Military Office responsible for the controversial low-altitude flyover of New York by a 747 plane used as Air Force One, the White House said Friday.
Police goof in raid
Police raid the wrong house in Baltimore. Weeks later, the guy still can’t get the city to repair his door. Their explanation is that because the address written on the warrant is the address the police raided, there was no mistake. Even though the guy they were actually after lived and was eventually arrested two doors down. The guy stored his old door in his backyard, hoping the city would eventually repair it. When it became clear that wasn’t going to happen, he called the city’s special trash pick-up to come and get it. They never did. But a city code inspector did come, and fined the guy $50 for having a broken door in his backyard.
Man Detained for Displaying “Don’t Tread on Me” Bumper Sticker
Our friends at The Patriot Depot just received a call from Rosemarie in Ball, Louisiana alerting Patriot Depot that her brother-in-law was stopped by small town Louisiana police and detained by the roadside for half an hour. A background check was conducted to determine whether he was a member of an "extremist" group. Why? Her brother-in-law (name not disclosed for privacy) had purchased and displayed a conservative "Don't Tread on Me" bumper sticker on his car.
HERE WE GO AGAIN: ANNALS OF THOUGHTCRIME
By Paul Greenberg
It's back: the criminalization of thought.
This time the same old bad idea has been all decked out in the latest newspeak. It's now the Local Law Enforcement Hate Crimes Prevention Act, aka HR 1913.
Everyday is Doomsday in Washington
By Tom Engelhardt
A front-page New York Times headline last week put the matter politely indeed: "In Pakistan, U.S. Courts Leader of Opposition." And nobody thought it was strange at all.
Obama's Health Care Quackery
True to the advice of his chief of staff to never let a good crisis go waste, President Barack Obama is using the current economic crisis to sell a top item on the liberal wish-list: universal health care. "You can't fix the economy," he has repeatedly said, "without fixing health care."
UN Treaties Fail to Respect American Sovereignty and the Constitution
By By Dana Gabriel
Much of the United Nations philosophy manifested through its charter and numerous organizations, as well as international treaties, fails to respect American sovereignty. In many cases, it runs contrary to the Constitution. Incrementally, the UN is gaining more power. The recent swine flu pandemic scare demonstrates the influence that it has over American domestic policy.
Free cars for poor fuel road rage
Gov. Deval Patrick’s free wheels for welfare recipients program is revving up despite the stalled economy, as the keys to donated cars loaded with state-funded insurance, repairs and even AAA membership are handed out to get them to work.
Under Restructuring, GM To Build More Cars Overseas
The U.S. government is pouring billions into General Motors in hopes of reviving the domestic economy, but when the automaker completes its restructuring plan, many of the company's new jobs will be filled by workers overseas.
Indicted ex-Vernon official gets $500,000 annual pension
Bruce Malkenhorst Sr. is accused of embezzling public funds from the city. He once was the highest-paid city official in California; now he gets the largest pension from CalPERS.
Brokerage insurance firm ailing
Until recently, the little-known Securities Investor Protection Corp. was flying high, confident its $1.7 billion fund was more than enough to insure investors against brokerage failures and fraud for years to come.
EU calls for shorter work week to create jobs
EU leaders on Thursday called for a shorter working week and extra state-funded retraining programmes as recession threatens millions of jobs.
More than one million flee Pakistan fighting, says UN
The United Nations has said that more than a million people have fled fighting in northern Pakistan as the government struggles to deal with an exodus of refugees.
Federal Reserve Inspector General knows nothing about the Fed
Rep. Alan Grayson asks the Federal Reserve Inspector General about the trillions of dollars lent or spent by the Federal Reserve and where it went, and the trillions of off balance sheet obligations. Inspector General Elizabeth Coleman responds that the IG does not know and is not tracking where this money is.
Afghans riot over air-strike atrocity
Shouting "Death to America" and "Death to the Government", thousands of Afghan villagers hurled stones at police yesterday as they vented their fury at American air strikes that local officials claim killed 147 civilians.
Afghanistan war costs to top Iraq by 2010
The cost of fighting the war in Afghanistan will overtake that of the Iraq conflict for the first time in 2010, Pentagon budget documents showed.
North Korea vows to bolster nuclear arsenal
North Korea vowed Friday to bolster its atomic arsenal in response to what it called Washington's "hostile" policy, even as a special envoy for President Barack Obama traveled to the region in a bid to draw Pyongyang back to nuclear negotiations.
Fed Sees Up to $599 Billion in Bank Losses
The federal government projected that 19 of the nation's biggest banks could suffer losses of up to $599 billion through the end of next year if the economy performs worse than expected and ordered 10 of them to raise a combined $74.6 billion in capital to cushion themselves.
Green Shoots or Greatest Depression?
The financial fields replete with sprouting “green shoots” should be viewed with suspicion, if not alarm, warns Gerald Celente, The Trends Research Institute Director. “They are not a mirage, but they are ephemeral.”
Field Marshall Ben Bernanke and his Green Shoot Brigade have fertilized the economic landscape with trillions of sweat equity dollars extorted from today’s public and the public of generations to come. Regardless of how depleted the land, heavy doses of dollars spread so thickly over the financial and government territories, will force “green shoots” to grow. But the fundamentals of the economy remain unsound. They will not be corrected by forced fertilizing barren acreage.
Psychologists Under Fire for Role in Interrogations
A leading human rights organisation is charging that an American Psychological Association (APA) task force formed to advise the U.S. military on prisoner interrogations was "stacked with Defence Department and [George W.] Bush Administration officials" and "rushed to conclusions that violated the Geneva Convention."
Deux ex Machina on Torture?
By Ray McGovern
The announcement in mid-March that CIA Director Leon Panetta had picked former Sen. Warren Rudman to act as CIA “liaison” with the Senate Intelligence Committee during its “review” of interrogation and detention practices has drawn virtually no criticism from the Fawning Corporate Media (FCM).
Pentagon’s Black Budget Grows to More Than $50 Billion
The Pentagon wants to spend just over $50 billion on classified programs next year, newly-released Defense Department budget documents reveal. “That’s the largest-ever sum,” according to Aviation Week’s Bill Sweetman, a longtime black-budget seer — a three percent increase over last year’s total.
Afghan girl's burns show horror of chemical strike
Life as 8-year-old Razia knew it ended one March morning when a shell her father says was fired by Western troops exploded into their house, enveloping her head and neck in a blazing chemical.
Ban Ki-moon's moral failure
Hasan Abu Nimah
Late last week, according to the BBC Arabic news website, a report was submitted to the United Nations Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon about the scale of destruction Israel inflicted on UN installations in Gaza.
Unemployment rate climbed to 8.9 percent
The unemployment rate climbed to 8.9 percent, the highest since late 1983, as many businesses remain wary of hiring given all the economic uncertainties.
Probe confirms US raid targeted Afghan civilians
A joint probe by the US and Afghan authorities shows civilians including women and children were the victims of US air strikes earlier this week in Afghanistan.
Fed Determines 10 Banks Need Capital of $74.6 Billion
The Federal Reserve determined that 10 U.S. banks need to raise a total of $74.6 billion in capital, a finding that Chairman Ben S. Bernanke said should reassure investors about the soundness of the financial system.
CIA Says Pelosi Was Briefed on Use of 'Enhanced Interrogations'
ntelligence officials released documents this evening saying that House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) was briefed in September 2002 about the use of harsh interrogation tactics against al-Qaeda prisoners, seemingly contradicting her repeated statements over the past 18 months that she was never told that these techniques were actually being used.
WHO: Up to 2 billion people might get swine flu
The World Health Organization said Thursday that up to 2 billion people could be infected by swine flu if the current outbreak turns into a pandemic. The agency said a pandemic typically lasts two years.
WHO considers flu alert overhaul
The World Health Organisation is considering an overhaul of its pandemic ratings system amid growing criticism that it provoked unnecessary alarm by rapidly escalating its warnings over swine flu.
House Demands Full Disclosure On DHS “Right-wing Extremism” Report
House Republicans demanded Wednesday that Homeland Security Secretary Janet Napolitano detail how the controversial "right-wing extremism" report was compiled, using a rare legislative maneuver that ensures that the Democrats must take a public stand - one way or another.
The Charge? Assault With a Deadly Web Site
If it weren’t so laughably unconstitutional, the Megan Meier Cyberbullying Prevention Act would truly be cause for concern, criminalizing as it does a broad spectrum of speech protected by the First Amendment.
David Rothschild "climate change" ad
Mr. Rothschild again demonstrates that it is his family, along with Al Gore, perpetrating this myth, for the purpose of global carbon taxation. As usual, he is using the Nazi tactic of appealing to children with dumbed-down messages of propaganda.
NY Fed chair quits over Goldman role
The chairman of the Federal Reserve Bank of New York resigned Thursday, days after coming under attack for his continuing involvement in a company regulated by the institution.
Government Could Destroy Records in Hundreds of Guantanamo Cases
A stockpile of documents about hundreds of Guantanamo Bay detainees, some written by the prisoners themselves, could be destroyed under a little-known provision of a federal court order the Bush administration obtained in 2004.
The Economy Will Not Recover Until The Perpetrators Of Our Crises Are Held Accountable
One of the leading business schools in America - the Wharton School of Business - has written an essay on the psychological causes and solutions to the economic crisis. Wharton points out that restoring trust is the key to recovery, and that trust cannot be restored until wrongdoers are held accountable.
666: Goldman's latest bonus bears the mark of the beast
Something strange is afoot when Popbitch – provider of a weekly email beloved of students, stuffed full of celebrity tittle-tattle and links to the silliest miscellany of the web – breaks off from such glorious trivia to encourage readers to support GoldmanSachs666.com, a deadly serious website measuring the political tentacles of the mighty investment bank.
Sinister Sites - Astana, Khazakhstan
Astana is the 1st capital being built in the 21st century and it represents perfectly where the world is headed. It is truly one man’s vision: Nursultan Nazarbayev, the president of Kazakhstan (yes Borat’s country, I know). Backed by billions of petrodollars, the city is being built from scratch in a remote and deserted area of the Asian steppes. The result is astonishing: a futuristic occult capital, embracing the New World Order while celebrating the most ancient religion known to man: Sun Worship. The city is still a huge construction site, but the buildings that are already completed already sum up perfectly Nazarbayev’s occult vision.
